God’s Junk Drawer has scary dinosaurs, a robot, and a weird alien. It’s awesome fun.
God’s Junk Drawer by Peter Clines is an insane but fun idea that is done really well. It has dinosaurs, people from across time, a robot, an alien, and a whole lot more. That description was enough for me to buy the book and immediately read it.
What is God’s Junk Drawer about?
Here is a snippet from the official blurb:
Forty years ago, the Gather family—James, his daughter Beau, and his son Billy—vanished during a whitewater rafting trip and were presumed dead.
Five years later, Billy reappeared on the far side of the world, telling an impossible tale of a primordial valley populated by dinosaurs, aliens, Neanderthals, and androids. Little Billy became the punchline of so very many jokes, until he finally faded from the public eye.
Now, a group of graduate astronomy students follow their professor, Noah Barnes, up a mountain for what they believe is a simple stargazing trip. But they’re about to travel a lot farther than they planned …
Basically, the valley is a weird place where a ton of mad stuff has randomly ended up. There are also things like deserted riverboats, a Cosmonaut suit, and strange pillars that have powers.
Our plucky heroes are thrust into this dangerous world and have to survive.
Why it works and what it does well
It’s a premise that massively appealed to me from the start. I love stuff like Land of the Lost, Jurassic Park, and Jumanji, and God’s Junk Drawer really scratched that itch. It’s a fun blend of sci-fi, adventure, and weird mystery.
I’ve read a few Peter Clines books before (here’s my review of the excellent 14), and they are always quite out there, with huge ideas, and weird, mysterious concepts. I’ve enjoyed them all and this book ranks well.
The novel starts with a strong hook – Billy Gather and his family disapper. Then, five years later, he is back with a bizarre tale. You are then all too aware that the characters you then meet are going on an adventure and it is going to be an odd and dangerous one.
Happily, the characters are all pretty good. There are quite a few viewpoints and a lot of things happening – so while you get to know and like them, there isn’t quite the depth some might want. But for this type of novel, I found the backgrounds and characterisations more than adequate, and better than most.
So, plot, characters, and story are all good.
The only minor negatives
There is a slight slowdown in the middle, which some might not like. It is only a minor thing though, and I found it a good time to take a breath and get to know the characters a bit better. I didn’t feel it much myself, but I have read some reviews that complained about this a bit.
I guess this is slightly contradictory, given that I’m talking about a minor slowdown in pace, but I would have liked to have known a bit more about some of the characters they meet. The main POV protagonists are all good, but the people they meet could have done with a bit more fleshing out. Overall, I found myself wanting to know a bit more about everything, but that could have just been me. And it would have slowed things down.
Final thoughts
If you’re looking for a fun sci-fi adventure, God’s Junk Drawer should fit the bill. I fancied a bit of humans being chased and occasionally eaten by dinosaurs action, and it delivered. There is also a very cool alien.
Don’t expect deep thoughtful science fiction, or anything that will make you sit back and think deeply afterwards. This is more of an action and adventure type of book, and while it doesn’t reach the excitement levels of, say, Jurassic Park, it is fun and highly enjoyable. It’s a great beach read.
You can check out God’s Junk Drawer by Peter Clines here. (Affiliate.)